This study suggests that coadministration of P. ginseng and warfarin in ischemic stroke patients does not influence the pharmacologic action of warfarin.

We conclude that PGE may improve obesity in mice fed an HFD and glucose uptake in L6 muscle cells by modifying adipokines, and could offer clinical benefits as a supplement to treat obesity and diabetes.

Objectives: The combined use of herbal and Western medicine is increasing. However, herbal medicine is highly likely to interact with Western medicine making it important to understand the effects of co-administration. This study investigates the ratio of patients who take Western medicine with herbal medicine, the types of medicines commonly prescribed together, and the results of hospital examinations. Methods: We investigated patients who were hospitalized at Kyung Hee University Korean Medical Hospital for at least one day from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2017. There were some inclusion criteria. First, we chose patients aged 19 and over. Second, we chose patients who were diagnosed with osteoarthritis (OA) with diagnosis codes M13, M15, M17 according to KCD-7. Third, patients had liver function tests, renal function tests, and general hematology tests performed at least two times during hospitalization. Results: Among a total of 131 OA patients, 32 (24.4%) patients were treated with herbal-Western medicine combination therapy. The most commonly prescribed herbal medicine was Daegalwhal-tang, and the most commonly prescribed Western medicine was celecoxib. In the laboratory findings, all liver function tests, renal function tests, and general hematology tests showed no difference compared to admission day. There were also no differences between herbal medicine single treatment and herbal-Western medicine combination treatment. Conclusions: From these results, we suggest that herbal medicine single treatment and herbal-Western medicine combination treatment for OA patients does not cause adverse effects.

A diabetic neuropathy patient was treated with Korean medicine for 2 weeks. In this case report, we report the efficacy of a complex treatment comprising various Korean medicine methods by evaluating the differences in pain scores. The patient reported improvement in both pain score and glucose index. Korean medicine could therefore be effective for the treatment and prevention of diabetic neuropathy.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the impact of Ephedra sinica pharmacopuncture on the weight and lipid metabolism of obese mice.Methods: Obesity was induced in male C57BL/6 mice by a 60% fat diet. The animals were divided into three groups (n=5) fed a normal diet, high-fat diet, and high-fat diet with Ephedra sinica pharmacopuncture. After 13 wk, fasting blood sugar levels were measured in each group, and oral glucose tolerance tests were conducted. After 15 wk, body weight, epididymal fat pad weight, subcutaneous fat pad weight, and serum lipid and gene expression of hormone sensitive lipase (HSL), adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL), monoacylglycerol lipase (MGL), perilipin, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-γ were measured in each group.Results: In the Ephedra group, body weight, fasting blood sugar, and oral glucose tolerance were significantly decreased. In addition, in the Ephedra group, the gene expression of HSL was significantly increased, whereas that of perilipin was significantly decreased. Conclusions:These results provide evidence that E. sinicapharmacopuncture affects obesity and obesity-induced metabolic syndrome, including insulin resistance and dyslipidemia, by activating lipolysis via the HSL pathway in adipose tissue.